115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1520 

AN ACT 

To expand recreational fishing opportunities through enhanced marine fishery conservation and management, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; REF2 ERENCES. 

3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

4 ‘‘Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 

5 2018’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; references. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT 

Sec. 101. Process for allocation review for South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico 

mixed-use fisheries. 

Sec. 102. Fishery management measures. 

Sec. 103. Study of limited access privilege programs for mixed-use fisheries. 

TITLE II—RECREATION FISHERY INFORMATION, RESEARCH, AND 

DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 201. Cooperative data collection. 

Sec. 202. Recreational data collection. 

TITLE III—RULE OF CONSTRUCTION 

Sec. 301. Rule of construction. 

8 (c) REFERENCES TO THE MAGNUSON-STEVENS

9 FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.—Ex10 cept as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in this Act 

11 an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an 

12 amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 

13 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section 

14 or other provision of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con15 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Section 2(a) (16 U.S.C. 1801(a)) is amended by add3 ing at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(13) While both provide significant cultural 

5 and economic benefits to the Nation, recreational 

6 fishing and commercial fishing are different activi7 ties. Therefore, science-based conservation and man8 agement approaches should be adapted to the char9 acteristics of each sector.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON13 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con14 gress’’ means— 

15 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

16 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

17 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

18 of the House of Representatives. 

19 (2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means any 

20 Regional Fishery Management Council established 

21 under section 302 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

22 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

23 1852). 

24 (3) LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PROGRAM.— 

25 The term ‘‘limited access privilege program’’ means 

26 a program that meets the requirements of section 
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1 303A of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva2 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853a). 

3 (4) MIXED-USE FISHERY.—The term ‘‘mixed4 use fishery’’ means a Federal fishery in which 2 or 

5 more of the following occur: 

6 (A) Recreational fishing. 

7 (B) Charter fishing. 

8 (C) Commercial fishing. 

9 TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND 

10 MANAGEMENT 

11 SEC. 101. PROCESS FOR ALLOCATION REVIEW FOR SOUTH 

12 ATLANTIC AND GULF OF MEXICO MIXED-USE 

13 FISHERIES. 

14 (a) STUDY OF ALLOCATIONS IN MIXED-USE FISH15 ERIES.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

16 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

17 shall conduct a study and submit to the appropriate com18 mittees of Congress a report on mixed-use fisheries in each 

19 applicable Council’s jurisdiction, which shall include— 

20 (1) recommendations on criteria that could be 

21 used by such Councils for allocating or reallocating 

22 fishing privileges in the preparation of a fishery 

23 management plan or plan amendment, including 

24 consideration of the ecological, conservation, eco-
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1 nomic, and social factors of each component of a 

2 mixed-use fishery; 

3 (2) identification of the sources of information 

4 that could reasonably support the use of such cri5 teria in allocation decisions; 

6 (3) an assessment of the budgetary require7 ments for performing periodic allocation reviews for 

8 each applicable Council; and 

9 (4) developing recommendations of procedures 

10 for allocation reviews and potential adjustments in 

11 allocation. 

12 (b) CONSULTATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.—The 

13 Comptroller General of the United States shall consult 

14 with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra15 tion, the applicable Councils, the Science and Statistical 

16 Committees of such Councils, the applicable State fish17 eries management commissions, the recreational fishing 

18 sector, the commercial fishing sector, the charter fishing 

19 sector, and other stakeholders, to the extent practicable, 

20 in conducting the study required under subsection (a). 

21 (c) DEFINITION OF APPLICABLE COUNCIL.—In this 

22 section, the term ‘‘applicable Council’’ means— 

23 (1) the South Atlantic Fishery Management 

24 Council; or 
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1 (2) the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

2 Council. 

3 SEC. 102. FISHERY MANAGEMENT MEASURES. 

4 (a) MANAGEMENT.—Section 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 

5 1852(h)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (7)(C), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

7 and inserting a semicolon; 

8 (2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as para9 graph (9); and 

10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(8) in addition to complying with the stand13 ards and requirements under paragraph (6), sections 

14 301(a), 303(a)(15), and 304(e), and other applicable 

15 provisions of this Act, have the authority to use fish16 ery management measures in a recreational fishery 

17 (or the recreational component of a mixed-use fish18 ery) in developing a fishery management plan, plan 

19 amendment, or proposed regulations, such as extrac20 tion rates, fishing mortality targets, harvest control 

21 rules, or traditional or cultural practices of native 

22 communities in such fishery or fishery component; 

23 and’’. 

24 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall 
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1 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

2 that describes any actions pursuant to paragraph (8) of 

3 section 302(h) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con4 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)), as 

5 added by subsection (a). 

6 (c) OTHER FISHERIES.—Nothing in paragraph (8) of 

7 section 302(h) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con8 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)), as 

9 added by subsection (a), shall be construed to affect man10 agement of any fishery not described in such paragraph 

11 (8). 

12 SEC. 103. STUDY OF LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PRO13 GRAMS FOR MIXED-USE FISHERIES. 

14 (a) STUDY ON LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PRO15 GRAMS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enact16 ment of this Act, the Ocean Studies Board of the National 

17 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine shall— 

18 (1) complete a study on the use of limited ac19 cess privilege programs in mixed-use fisheries, in20 cluding— 

21 (A) an assessment of progress in meeting 

22 the goals of the program and this Act; 

23 (B) an assessment of the social, economic, 

24 and ecological effects of the program, consid25 ering each sector of a mixed-use fishery and re-
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1 lated businesses, coastal communities, and the 

2 environment; 

3 (C) an assessment of any impacts to stake4 holders in a mixed-use fishery caused by a lim5 ited access privilege program; 

6 (D) recommendations of policies to address 

7 any impacts identified under subparagraph (C); 

8 (E) identification of and recommendation 

9 of the different factors and information that 

10 should be considered when designing, estab11 lishing, or maintaining a limited access privilege 

12 program in a mixed-use fishery to mitigate any 

13 impacts identified in subparagraph (C), to the 

14 extent practicable; and 

15 (F) a review of best practices and chal16 lenges faced in the design and implementation 

17 of limited access privilege programs under the 

18 jurisdiction of each of the 8 Regional Fishery 

19 Management Councils; and 

20 (2) submit to the appropriate committees of 

21 Congress a report on the study under paragraph (1), 

22 including the recommendations under subparagraphs 

23 (D) and (E) of paragraph (1). 

24 (b) EXCLUSION.—Except as provided in subsection 

25 (a)(1)(F), the study described in this section shall not in-
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1 clude the areas covered by the Pacific Fishery Manage2 ment Council and the North Pacific Fishery Management 

3 Council. 

4 TITLE II—RECREATION FISHERY 

5 INFORMATION, RESEARCH, 

6 AND DEVELOPMENT 

7 SEC. 201. COOPERATIVE DATA COLLECTION. 

8 (a) IMPROVING DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS.— 

9 Section 404 (16 U.S.C. 1881c) is amended by adding at 

10 the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(e) IMPROVING DATA COLLECTION AND ANAL12 YSIS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of the Modernizing Rec15 reational Fisheries Management Act of 2017, the 

16 Secretary shall develop, in consultation with the 

17 science and statistical committees of the Councils es18 tablished under section 302(g) and the Marine Fish19 eries Commissions, and submit to the Committee on 

20 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen21 ate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

22 House of Representatives a report on facilitating 

23 greater incorporation of data, analysis, stock assess24 ments, and surveys from State agencies and non25 governmental sources described in paragraph (2), to 
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1 the extent such information is consistent with sec2 tion 301(a)(2), into fisheries management decisions. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONTENT.—In developing the report 

4 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) identify types of data and analysis, 

6 especially concerning recreational fishing, that 

7 can be used for purposes of this Act as the 

8 basis for establishing conservation and manage9 ment measures as required by section 

10 303(a)(1), including setting standards for the 

11 collection and use of that data and analysis in 

12 stock assessments and surveys and for other 

13 purposes; 

14 ‘‘(B) provide specific recommendations for 

15 collecting data and performing analyses identi16 fied as necessary to reduce uncertainty in and 

17 improve the accuracy of future stock assess18 ments, including whether such data and anal19 ysis could be provided by nongovernmental 

20 sources; and 

21 ‘‘(C) consider the extent to which the ac22 ceptance and use of data and analyses identi23 fied in the report in fishery management deci24 sions is practicable and compatible with the re25 quirements of section 301(a)(2).’’. 
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1 (b) NAS REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Sec2 retary of Commerce shall take into consideration and, to 

3 the extent feasible, implement the recommendations of the 

4 National Academy of Sciences in the report entitled ‘‘Re5 view of the Marine Recreational Information Program 

6 (2017)’’, and shall submit, every 2 years following the date 

7 of enactment of this Act, a report to the appropriate com8 mittees of Congress detailing progress made implementing 

9 those recommendations. Recommendations considered 

10 shall include— 

11 (1) prioritizing the evaluation of electronic data 

12 collection, including smartphone applications, elec13 tronic diaries for prospective data collection, and an 

14 internet website option for panel members or for the 

15 public; 

16 (2) evaluating whether the design of the Marine 

17 Recreational Information Program for the purposes 

18 of stock assessment and the determination of stock 

19 management reference points is compatible with the 

20 needs of in-season management of annual catch lim21 its; and 

22 (3) if the Marine Recreational Information Pro23 gram is incompatible with the needs of in-season 

24 management of annual catch limits, determining an 

25 alternative method for in-season management. 
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1 SEC. 202. RECREATIONAL DATA COLLECTION. 

2 Section 401 (16 U.S.C. 1881) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (g)— 

4 (A) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

5 paragraph (5); and 

6 (B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL-STATE PARTNERSHIPS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

10 shall establish a partnership with a State to de11 velop best practices for implementing the State 

12 program established under paragraph (2). 

13 ‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall de14 velop guidance, in cooperation with the States, 

15 that details best practices for administering 

16 State programs pursuant to paragraph (2), and 

17 provide such guidance to the States. 

18 ‘‘(C) BIENNIAL REPORT.—The Secretary 

19 shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

20 Congress and publish biennial reports that in21 clude— 

22 ‘‘(i) the estimated accuracy of— 

23 ‘‘(I) the information provided 

24 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

25 paragraph (1) for each registry pro-
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1 gram established under that para2 graph; and 

3 ‘‘(II) the information from each 

4 State program that is used to assist 

5 in completing surveys or evaluating 

6 effects of conservation and manage7 ment measures under paragraph (2); 

8 ‘‘(ii) priorities for improving rec9 reational fishing data collection; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) an explanation of any use of in11 formation collected by such State programs 

12 and by the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(D) STATES GRANT PROGRAM.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

15 may make grants to States to— 

16 ‘‘(I) improve implementation of 

17 State programs consistent with this 

18 subsection; and 

19 ‘‘(II) assist such programs in 

20 complying with requirements related 

21 to changes in recreational data collec22 tion under paragraph (3). 

23 ‘‘(ii) USE OF FUNDS.—Any funds 

24 awarded through such grants shall be used 

25 to support data collection, quality assur-
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1 ance, and outreach to entities submitting 

2 such data. The Secretary shall prioritize 

3 such grants based on the ability of the 

4 grant to improve the quality and accuracy 

5 of such programs.’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(h) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) within 90 days after the date of the enact9 ment of the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries 

10 Management Act of 2018, enter into an agreement 

11 with the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate, 

12 in the form of a report— 

13 ‘‘(A) how the design of the Marine Rec14 reational Information Program, for the pur15 poses of stock assessment and the determina16 tion of stock management reference points, can 

17 be improved to better meet the needs of in-sea18 son management of annual catch limits under 

19 section 303(a)(15); and 

20 ‘‘(B) what actions the Secretary, Councils, 

21 and States could take to improve the accuracy 

22 and timeliness of data collection and analysis to 

23 improve the Marine Recreational Information 

24 Program and facilitate in-season management; 

25 and 
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1 ‘‘(2) within 6 months after receiving the report 

2 under paragraph (1), submit to Congress rec3 ommendations regarding— 

4 ‘‘(A) changes to be made to the Marine 

5 Recreational Information Program to make the 

6 program better meet the needs of in-season 

7 management of annual catch limits and other 

8 requirements under such section; and 

9 ‘‘(B) alternative management approaches 

10 that could be applied to recreational fisheries 

11 for which the Marine Recreational Information 

12 Program is not meeting the needs of in-season 

13 management of annual catch limits, consistent 

14 with other requirements of this Act, until such 

15 time as the changes in subparagraph (A) are 

16 implemented.’’. 

17 TITLE III—RULE OF 

18 CONSTRUCTION 

19 SEC. 301. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

20 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as modifying 

21 the requirements of sections 301(a), 302(h)(6), 

22 303(a)(15), or 304(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

23 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a), 

24 1852(h)(6), 1853(a)(15), and 1854(e)), or the equal appli25 cation of such requirements and other standards and re-
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1 quirements under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con2 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) 

3 to commercial, charter, and recreational fisheries, includ4 ing each component of mixed-use fisheries. 

Passed the Senate December 17, 2018. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1520 

AN ACT 

To expand recreational fishing opportunities 

and management, and for other purposes. through enhanced marine fishery conservation